Joplin Cat5+ Tornado

The Joplin Express

The tornado devastation in Joplin, Missouri is staggering. All through the South floods, tornadoes and hurricanes have devoured homes, businesses, lands and lives. I know all of our hearts are broken for our countrymen. God is prompted us to take action and we are going to respond quickly! Love Aflame is going to Joplin this weekend! Would you help us?

God has been speaking to Love Aflame leaders about the spiritual needs of our own country. America needs God! America needs to return to the right paths. Our nation is not only being pummeled by every form of natural disaster imaginable, but it is being wrecked by godlessness, immorality, and a host of other sins. We know God loves the USA, but the hearts of so many in this great land have been turned away from Him. Everyone is wondering what is going on and questions about the end of the world are in millions of minds. All of the global events of the past few years (Katrina, Indonesia, Samoa, Haiti, Japan, the Middle East, the Economy, floods, tsunamis, etc.) until now have produced a spiritual openness in the hearts of Americans that may be unprecedented since World War II. Thoughts about God, death, eternity, heaven and hell are keeping people awake at night.

I am putting together a team that will leave Horseheads this Sunday, May 29. We expect to be on the road for 7 to 10 days. The general purpose of this mission is to minister the love of Jesus Christ to the people in Joplin and the surrounding area. The two-fold strategy for this mission is (1) to provide humanitarian help (clear debris, assist victims wherever possible, help build what needs building, etc.) and (2) to provide spiritual encouragement for the devastated people of Missouri.

Once God leads us to a particular spot to operate from, we intend to work with our hands for the first half of the day and then give people a chance to connect with God in the second half of the day and into the evening. We will attempt to go as self-contained as possible with a generator, power tools, hand tools, etc. We will travel light, sleep in tents in sleeping bags and generally make do. We will also take a sound system, musical instruments, chairs, and larger tents. We will take one or two vehicles (one of them will likely be the mobile unit—a converted ambulance), a trailer if possible and an RV/camper is God provides one.

Depending on the location and circumstances we will either set up a prayer tent or a revival tent and have CHURCH!! We have a 20’ by 30’ tent that will hold 50 to 60 people—a perfect size for this application. Many of the churches in Joplin were destroyed and are unusable. We intend to preach the gospel boldly to as many as will listen. We expect God to save, heal and deliver. We expect miracles, signs and wonders to be performed through the power of the Holy Spirit. We expect people to turn to Jesus.

The Joplin Express will require funds. For instance we will need enough fuel for 2 large vehicles to go 1,140 miles and back ($800 to $1,000)! We are happy to receive financial donations for this mission at any time if God should lay that on your heart. As with Haiti, you can be assured that what you put into our hand will actually be translated into genuine help, both temporal and eternal. We are asking everyone who has been crushed by the images and stories of the people of Joplin to do everything you can to assist us in this effort. There is a good possibility that we may also do some lightening quick fund-raisers right here on our campus over the next couple of days.

We need a lot of prayer—even before we leave! There is so much to do and not much time to do it. Please pray, pray, pray!

By His grace alone,

+Bishop Jim Pierce